These days many people want to incorporate modern, contemporary styles into their housing. Crisp, and spacious, with clean streamlined pieces and straight edges, there’s a whole host of ways to get the look. After modern dining room furniture made its way into people’s homes, the living room is next: Here come the new designs.

One item of furniture you can use to bring a room bang up to date is a modular or L-shaped sofa. You can have this positioned in the centre of the room or can tuck it away in a corner. There are so many different modern styles of sofa to pick from. You can choose shallow, close to the floor styles or sofas in unusual shapes.

You can also buy patterned furnishings or a patterned sofa. Stripes and floral’s are both popular. If you’re feeling even braver mix the patterns, eg: floral throws and cushions on a sofa with striped curtains or blinds. The trick is to keep the rest of the room plain and keep the patterns big and bold, not small and fussy. Patterned rugs look good on polished wooden flooring.

A minimalist look is also very modern. Think leather sofa alongside a patterned rug and wooden flooring with plenty of space, teamed with other simple, plain furniture.

Wall art can go a long way to creating a contemporary look. Think big, bold prints that make a statement and create a focal point. The bigger the print the better.

Colours that work well for modern stylings is of course white, cream and grey, that all create the illusion of space. Black teamed with these colours give a crisp, monochrome effect. Or you can splash colour around the room with a block-coloured sofa or curtains. Just paint or paper one wall to make it into a feature.

You’ll notice in the Walking Boots Sale that manufacturers like to rate their walking boots in seasons, from 1 to 4, by the terrain they are suited for. These seasons should act as a vague guideline for their appropriateness to what you need them for.

Season 1 is known as ‘active’ in that they are used for general, straightforward walks. You will not be attacking the big hills or steep slopes in these as they do not provide much support for your ankles and are going to be the lightest out there. As they do not expect too much action, they are not very good at keeping the water away from your feet but are very flexible.

Season 2, or ‘walking’, takes it up a level by becoming sturdier. The ankles will receive more support and your feet will be slightly more protected from water but they are still unadvisable for more extreme situations. A little flexibility is lost at the expense of a firmer sole but you will stick to the path more with better grip.

Season 3, or ‘hiking’, equips you with everything most people would need to take on the mountains. Here, you ankles are best protected, allowing you to adventure almost anywhere along the trail. It is also more likely to be made of leather rather than other materials to provide more protection and support.

Season 4, or ‘mountain’, are Walking Boots usually reserved for the serious, professional mountain tacklers. Taking you “above the snowline”, they are ready for absolutely everything. Unless you are planning to assault an incredible challenge, you will likely never need to think about these. They are highly rigid, made from leather and will be uncomfortable if you are wearing them outside of winter.